Robin, the Teen Wonder — CASUAL WEDNESDAYS WITH DOOMROCKET

By Molly Jane Kremer and Jarrod Jones. Happy New Comic Book Day! This is Casual Wednesdays With DoomRocket, where each week we discuss our feelings concerning the comics that mean the most to us, and the industry news that affects us all. This week, MJ & Jarrod spend twenty minutes or so talking about Robin. Then they share their Top 5 Most Anticipated Issues of the Week, and assess ‘Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica’ #1, and ‘Punisher: The Platoon’ #1.

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JJ: Garth Ennis’ reverence for the armed services usually merits a relatively grounded read compared to his other gonzo stuff, and The Platoon is itself a very detail-oriented one. Things get pretty arid as Ennis shows off his technical acumen during the bits where Frank Castle becomes acclimated to the members of his squad. There’s enough characterization amidst the platoon to get you through the issue, but some of the technical jargon weighs the story down.

6 out of 10

Harley & Ivy Meets Betty & Veronica #1

DC Comics/Archie Comics

Written by Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko.

Art by Laura Braga.

Colors by Tony Aviña and Arif Prianto.

Letters by Deron Bennett.

MJ: I have a great love for both Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, even if I’m not a fan of where the characters have gone in the last five years or so (especially in regards to motion pictures, eesh). Paul Dini co-penning a crossover with Betty and Veronica though? An automatic read for me. However, I didn’t like how high school students were all drawn dressed and coiffed like twenty seven year olds. It makes a sort of “heroic ideal” sense for Harley and Ivy to have hair and boobs and butts that defy gravity, but Betty and Veronica and Midge should look, well…human. Seventeen year old human to be more specific. And they don’t. It’s odd not to have a visual contrasting difference between the small town high school girls and va-va-voom supervillains.